Weight Bench Exercises

If you are looking to strengthen your upper body, get leaner or put on more mass then I have a list of the most popular weight bench exercises you can do on your weight bench at home or in the gym.

We will focus on your pecs, back, triceps and biceps.

Grab your best weight bench and pair of dumbbells and consider adding these exercises into your existing workout over time.

Exercise 1 :Dumbbell Chest Press

If you want to build an amazing chest this exercise is one of the best out there, because you can target different parts of your chest and upper body by simply changing the angle of your weight bench. With the typical flat bench, you can target your Pectoralis minor and some of the Pectoralis major.  Your deltoids get involved, triceps and back.  If you want to move the angle of the bench to say 45 degrees you will target more of the deltoids, shoulders, Latissimus Dorsi and Pec Major. This is one exercise you have to alternate into your bench press program.

How to do it:

Grab a pair dumbbells and lie on the bench. Feet should be flat on the floor. Place your dumbbells at your shoulders, on each side of the torso, hands overhand. Squeeze your shoulder blades to place the shoulders back.

Push up to bring the dumbbells up, in a converging motion, over your chest, outstretched arms, contracted chest. Then, lower the dumbbells at the level of the chest by controlling the movement. Repeat the movement, keeping the tension in the muscles, until the end of your series. My personal preference is to go up slow and down slow using the 2 second rule going up and down.

Exercise 2 :One arm dumbbell row

The one-arm dumbbell row is an exercise that targets your back muscles, in particular your latissimus dorsi and trapezius muscles. It’s one exercise that you will see people doing in the gym to gain thickness and build mass. So, to excute this exercise osition your hand and knee on the weight bench so you can focus on your back muscles and not user any of your lower body. This is also a safe position to be in when lifting the weight.

If you talk about symmetry, this movement is the best to build proportionate and symmetrical Lats, achieved by the unilateral work.

Try this movement in your next training session.

How to do it:

Take a flat bench, Lean forward to position the knee and hand on the same side on the bench.

With your free hand, grab a dumbbell in a neutral grip.

The leg on the ground will be slightly bent and the back will remain straight throughout the execution of the movement. Engage your shoulder and pull the dumbbell in a circular movement.

The elbow will come back as high as possible by contracting the back muscles.

Return the dumbbell to its original position following the same path.

Exercise 3 :Dips between 2 weight benches

Equipment needed :2 weight benches

This exercise is so simple but is laser focused on your triceps, and your Anterior Deltoids.

This movement can be adjusted to suit beginners by just using your body weight. It is also possible to increase the difficulty for people who can handle it by having your partner place Olympic weight plates on your lap to increase the difficulty.

How to do it:

Place two weight benches parallel to each other about one meter apart. Sit on the edge of one of the benches with your hands next to your hips keeping our elbows tight to your side and your feet stretched across on the other bench. Grasp the bench and push on the palms to lift the pelvis to the starting position. Make sure your arms are fully extended and locked.

Slowly lower the hips by bending your elbows (90 degrees). Host for one second and contract the triceps to return to the starting position.

Exercise 4 :Dumbbell pullover

This is another classic exercise and is a good way to improve the flexibility of the rib cage, work on your back muscles and triceps.

Most bodybuilding champions practice this movement in their Workout routine. So, this is one of those exercises that you should always include in your workout routine.

How to do it:

Grab a single dumbbell weight you are comfortable pulling over your head and sit down on the bench with it in your lap. Lay down on an olympic weight bench or flat bench, keeping the dumbbell tight to your chest and slow straighten your arms out. Now start lowering the dumbbell behind your head, keeping your arms straight and stable.

Go down until your biceps are up to your ears. Raise the dumbbell back up to 90 degrees, always keeping your arms straight, until the dumbbell comes at the top of your chest.

Exercise 5 :Skull Crusher

This is the ultimate exercise to build your triceps, it also a basic movement to isolate triceps work.

You should normally be able to use the same load on this exercise and on the biceps curl. If this is not the case, it means that your triceps are a bit weaker  compared to your biceps and you should focus on them a bit more to balancing it out.

How to do it:

Lying on a weight bench, hold the bar, with a width equal to the width of your shoulders. Fold the forearms, without moving your arms, to bring the bar over the forehead. Make an extension of the forearms, but without locking the elbows. At the top of the movement, the arms will not be vertical, but slightly inclined, so the triceps will remain under tension the whole time.

Exercise 6 :Decline Bench Leg Raise

This maybe the best exercise for targeting your abdominal muscles by doing leg lifts on a decline bench laying the opposite way so your head is up  because you can train your abs without putting a dangerous load on your lower back like other core exercises do.

Equipment needed:Decline weight bench

How to do it:

Lying on an incline weight bench, flex your legs slightly and bring them back to the trunk, keeping the lower back glued to the weight bench.

Exercise 7 :Concentration Bicep Curls

It's a basic isolation movement for the biceps, effective for gaining muscle mass and getting a good definition of the arm.

How to do it:

Sitting at the end of the weight bench, legs apart and a dumbbell in one hand, lean forward with the arm between the thighs, to place the elbow inside the thigh. Contract the biceps to flex the forearm, Move only the forearm. Do not try to help the movement by moving your elbow or shoulder. Once at the top, go back by controlling the movement.

Exercise 8 :Dumbbell seated shoulders press

This exercise targets the muscles in your shoulders, and indirectly the triceps, the back of the arms and the upper chest. It is a basic exercise, ideal to increase  mass, thickness and build massive shoulders. Often recommended for beginners but also appreciated by advanced as it’s less demanding on your joints. The dumbbell seated shoulders press allows a better amplitude compared to the bar, the movement is more natural, comfortable, and remains less risky than other developed especially when it is done sitting on a bench weight.

How to do it:

Sit on a straight weight bench. Take two dumbbells and place them on your lap.
Lift the dumbbells up to the shoulders and push them upward until they touch at the top. After a brief pause, then slowly lower the weight back to the initial position.

Exercise 9 :Chest Supported Dumbbell Row

This exercise is one of the safest exercises for the middle back, and one of the most effective.
If you have a bad posture it time to practice this movement. You will need an adjustable weight bench for this.

How to do it:

Lie your bust against an inclined weight bench. Collect two dumbbells on the ground in each hand and then lift him on keeping your elbows close to your body, contract your back stopping at the top of the movement and then slowly lower the dumbbells while keeping a slight bend of the elbow

Exercise 10 :Reverse flyes

By doing this exercise using an incline bench you are putting yourself in a much safer position to not injure back. It targets the back part of the shoulders with the development of the posterior and middle deltoids. Isolation movement of the shoulders, Reverse flyes on the inclined bench helps strengthen the rear part whose development is often weak and under developed. It is recommended at all levels to balance the shoulders and prevent the risk of injury. Thanks to its lengthened position this exercise presents at the same time less risk of injuries than the classic Reverse flyes and allows work in insulation more effective.

How to do it:

Take two dumbbells in your hands and sit flat on the incline weight bench. The inclination must be low, prefer an angle close to 30 to 45 degrees with the ground. For good stability, during the exercise, the feet should be on the ground, and the legs spread about shoulder-width apart.

Let your arms in front of you, perpendicular to the ground, and bend your elbows slightly. Place the dumbbells so that the palms of the hands are facing your torso. Raise the dumbbells laterally keeping your arms in alignment with your shoulders. Continue until your elbows reach shoulder height and your forearms are almost parallel to the floor. Stay a second in the up position before slowly lowering the dumbbells back to the starting position.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas on what type of weigh bench exercises you can do at home or in the gym.